Rushing the court needs to stop

I can understand the yearning to rush the court following a victory in a big game — to a certain extent, anyway.

People are excited, emotions are flowing and perhaps the feeling of wanting to run down to the court and partake in the celebration just comes naturally.

We are social creatures, after all.

We want to be able to be a part of that experience and say we were there at that place, when that thing happened.

Fair enough.

At the same time, however, I can understand why it may not be the greatest of ideas, for some of the very same reasons I mentioned.

When the games end, there is a winner and a loser. There are also mixed emotions — from both players and fans. That cocktail of players, fans and varying emotions is a recipe for disaster.

Take the recent college basketball game between New Mexico State and Utah Valley on Feb. 27 that erupted into a large brawl. Following the end of the game, a player from New Mexico State threw a ball at a Utah Valley player and all hell broke loose between Utah fans and New Mexico State players.

No major injuries were reported and it seemed as if everybody involved escaped relatively unscathed, but this could have been much worse.

The University of South Carolina was recently fined $25,000 by the SEC following its fans storming onto the court after a victory of Kentucky on March 1. It was the second time since 2010 the Gamecocks had been fined for rushing the court, also following a victory over Kentucky.

Imagine if something had happened in this most recent matchup between Kentucky and South Carolina. These two schools are of a higher profile and a more well-known conference than lowly Utah Valley and New Mexico State.

Again, if rushing the court continues to happen it is just a matter of time before something worse than the recent scuffle at Utah Valley happens. There’s nothing wrong with celebrating a victory, but I believe it to be irresponsible to put some many people into such a small area with powerful emotions taking over thoughts and actions.